Portable mechanical fan

ABSTRACT

A portable mechanical fan device comprises a spring loaded hand grip, one or more hand grip springs, a saw-tooth drive plate, upper and lower drive gears, a fan blade gear, a fan blade shaft and fan blades. The saw-tooth drive plate is attached to the top of the spring loaded hand grip. Squeezing the spring loaded hand grip by a hand drives the saw-tooth drive plate against the lower drive gear which in turn drives the upper drive gear forward to be meshed against the fan blade gear and causes the upper drive gear and the fan blade gear to rotate. Releasing the spring loaded hand grip allows the upper drive gear and the fan blade gear to be unmeshed and continue rotating. The fan blade gear is attached to the fan blade shaft to allow for continuous rotation of the fan blades through the squeezing and releasing of the spring loaded hand grip to create a cooling breeze.

The present application is a continuation-in-part application of, andclaims a priority to the U.S. Non-provisional Application No. 12/077,332filed on March 19, 2008, which claims a priority to U.S. 60/907,083filed on 3-19-2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portablehand held fan, and more particularly relates to an improved portablemechanical fan.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The art field relative to the invention, development and engineering ofthe portable hand held fan is well established. From the 1800's into theearly part of the 1900's came the development of the portable mechanicalfan. The early 1900's then developed into the portable electric fanswhich are today commercially manufactured in numbers too large to count.Such designed portable fans, being either mechanically or electricallyoperated, are intended to be held by the user by a formed hand grip ofsome type with the fan blades facing the user. Such portable fans areintended to be mechanically or electrically operated for the coolingbreeze that the device provides to the user.

It is accordingly a primary objective of the invention to be utilized asa hand held fan by the user.

This is achieved by a spring loaded squeeze handle on the body portion,which is squeezed and released causing a gear system to mesh togetherand thus causing the four fan blades to rotate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, in summary, the present inventionprovides an improved mechanical portable fan device which is intended tobe utilized as a hand held unit by the user. In the preferredembodiment, a spring loaded squeeze handle on the body portion issqueezed and released causing a gear system to mesh together and thuscausing the four fan blades to rotate. The device is further designedsuch that once the four fan blades are in motion they will continue torotate freely between the squeezing and releasing actions of the springloaded handle allowing the user to enjoy the cooling effects of the fandevice.

A further feature of the preferred embodiment of the invention is theaddition of the scent canister mounted at the heart of the four fanblades. The scent canister has a twist top that can be removed to eitheradd scent drops to the mini sponge or to replace the mini sponge with ascent stick. Upon the operation of the fan device, the user will havethe added benefit of a scented breeze. In this manner, the fan might notonly be used as a cooling device, but also as an air freshening deviceas well.

This device was designed for its simplicity of operation and the factthat it can be manufactured from recycled materials being metal andplastic, or all together plastic. There are no toxic batteries neededfor its operation and no toxic batteries to dispose of, such as used bythe present portable fan devices. This fan device also comes with ascent canister. Aromatic scents may be added for purely refreshingbreezes, or scents such as Vicks® may be added for therapeutic purposesand may assist people with clearer breathing along with the addedcooling breeze effect. A further embodiment is that the physicaloperation of this fan device may improve wrist, hand and finger strengthwhich may in turn assist with better coordination and dexterity of thestated same.

This mechanical fan device was designed with the intent to be used atoutdoor sporting events or concerts where temperatures might be high andthe cooling breeze generated by this fan device might provide somecooling relief from the heat. This mechanical fan device could also becolor coded with attached decals to match any athletic team's colorwhether it is professional or amateur such as for football, baseball,soccer, tennis, golf, or any other outdoor summer sporting or amusementpark event, etc. There will be no expensive batteries to run down withthe need to be replaced over and over again.

Additional objectives and advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows, and in part will be obviousfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.The objectives and advantages of the invention will be realized andattained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one (several) embodiment(s) ofthe invention and together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation plan view showing the inside view of theportable mechanical fan device of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a top elevation plan view showing the inside top view of theportable mechanical fan device of the present invention.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiment(exemplary embodiments) of the invention, Examples of which areillustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the samereference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to thesame or like parts.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an improved portable mechanical fandevice is designed to be hand held and hand operated. The portablemechanical fan device comprises a spring loaded hand grip 10, one ormore hand grip springs 11, a saw-tooth drive plate 8, upper and lowerdrive gears 6 a, 6 b, a fan blade gear 5, a fan blade shaft 4 and fourfan blades 3. The saw-tooth drive plate 8 is attached to the top of thespring loaded hand grip 10. Squeezing the spring loaded hand grip 10 bya hand drives the saw-tooth drive plate 8 against the lower drive gear 6b which in turn drives the upper drive gear 6 a forward until the upperdrive gear 6 a is meshed against the fan blade gear 5, as illustrated inFIG. 2. The fan blade gear 5 is attached to the fan blade shaft 4. Thesaw-tooth drive plate 8 being driven forward about one inch causes allassociated gears to mesh and rotate, which in turn causes the four fanblades 3 to rotate, thus causing air movement for a continuous coolingbreeze. Releasing the spring loaded hand grip 10 allows the associatedgears to be un-meshed which in turn allows the four fan blades 3 tocontinue to rotate freely. Rapidly squeezing and releasing the springloaded hand grip 10 allows for the continuous rotating of the fan blades3, thus causing a continuous cooling breeze.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, the portable mechanical fan device furthercomprises a drive gear casing 16 for containing the system of drivegears including the upper and lower drive gears 6 a, 6 b, the fan bladegear 5 and the fan blade shaft 4. A cut-out slot 7 is provided at theinside of the drive gear casing 16 and allows for the back and forthsliding movement of the drive gear shaft 17 that the upper drive gear 6a and the lower drive gear 6 b are mounted to, and mounting screws 9 areused for attaching the saw tooth drive plate 8 to the top of the springloaded hand grip 10. The spring loaded hand grip 10 is held in theoutward position (towards left on FIG. 1) by the hand grip springs 11when uncompressed. In the non-operational state the uncompressed springloaded hand grip 10 is positioned outward (towards left on FIG. 1) whichin turn positions the attached saw-tooth drive plate 8 outward (towardsleft on FIG. 1). The saw-tooth drive plate 8 is meshed against the lowerdrive gear 6 b pulling the lower drive gear 6 b outward (towards left onFIG. 1) and thus causing the upper drive gear 6 a to be unmeshed fromthe fan blade drive gear 5. In the operational state, the hand gripsprings 11 are compressed by a hand squeezing the spring loaded handgrip 10 which in turn drives the saw-tooth drive plate 8 forward(towards right on FIG. 1) and meshes it against the lower drive gear 6b. The lower drive gear 6 b then moves the upper drive gear 6 a forward(towards right on FIG. 1 & FIG. 2) within the cut-out slot 7 causing theupper drive gear 6 a to mesh together with the fan blade drive gear 5which in turn causes the fan blade shaft 4 to spin and then causes thefan blades 3 to rotate creating a cooling breeze. The travel of thespring loaded hand grip 10 and the attached saw-tooth drive plate 8 isapproximately one inch that is determined by the dimension of thecut-out slot 7. Upon releasing the spring loaded hand grip 10, the handgrip springs 11 decompress causing the spring loaded hand grip 10 to bepushed outward (towards left on FIG. 1) which in turn drives thesaw-tooth drive plate 8 outward (towards left on FIG. 1) pulling thelower drive gear 6 b back with it. At the same time, the lower drivegear 6 b pulls the upper drive gear 6 a which in turn allows for theupper drive gear 6 a to be unmeshed from the fan blade drive gear 5 inturn causing the lower drive gear 6 b and upper drive gear 6 a to slidebackward (towards left on FIG. 1) within the cut-out slot 7. The fanblade drive shaft 4 and the fan blades 3 spin freely at this timebecause of the unmeshed upper drive gear 6 a from the fan blade drivegear 5. Continuous hand squeezing of the spring loaded hand grip 10 willprovide for a continuous cooling breeze. The lower fan body casing 12 isfastened together by body casing screws 13 and the upper fan body casing14 is fastened together by body casing screws 15.

In addition, a scent canister 1 is mounted at the top of the center ofthe four fan blades 3. The scent canister 1 twists off to allow accessfor either applying scent drops to a mini sponge 2 located in the scentcanister 1 or for inserting a mini scent stick in the scent canister 1.The scent canister 1 is then twisted back on and the fan is ready foroperation that disseminates a refreshing aroma along with a coolingbreeze.

Further, in the present invention, the spring loaded hand grip 10 isdesigned to have an enlarged size so that it can physically accommodatethe placement of all four fingers of either hand around for squeezingthe hand grip for operation of the fan. So in the operational state, thehand grip springs 11 become compressed when the spring loaded hand grip10 is squeezed by the push of all four fingers on the spring loaded handgrip 10. As a result, the saw-tooth drive plate 8 meshes with the systemof drive gears including lower drive gear 6 b, upper drive gear 6 a andfan blade drive gear 5, which together causes the fan blade shaft 4 tospin causing the fan blades 3 to rotate and thus creating a coolingbreeze. The travel of the spring loaded hand grip 10 with the attachedsaw-tooth drive plate 8 is approximately one inch. The releasing ofpressure by all four fingers on the spring loaded hand grip 10 allowsfor it to recoil to its natural starting position by way of the handgrip springs 11. The purpose of the hand grip springs 11 is for therecoil action of the spring loaded hand grip 10. This recoil actionhappens each time that pressure is released by way of all four fingerson the spring loaded hand grip 10. Each recoil of the spring loaded handgrip 10 with the attached saw-tooth drive plate 8 un-meshes the lowerdrive gear 6 b, the upper drive gear 6 a and the fan blade drive gear 5from each other which in turn allows the fan blades 3 to spin freely.The continuous squeezing of the spring loaded hand grip 10 by all fourfingers will provide for a continuous cooling breeze.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described indetail for purposes of illustration, other embodiments of the inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It isintended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplaryonly, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated bythe following claims.

1. A portable mechanical fan device, comprising: a spring loaded handgrip; a fan body casing; at least one hand grip spring having a firstend engaged with the spring loaded hand grip and a second end fixed atan inside of the fan body casing; a saw-tooth drive plate being attachedto the top of the spring loaded hand grip; a drive gear system includingat least a fan blade gear; and a plurality of fan blades being mountedto a fan blade shaft, wherein squeezing the spring loaded hand grip intothe fan body casing by a hand drives the saw-tooth drive plate forwardcausing gears in the drive gear system to be meshed together and rotate;releasing the spring loaded hand grip allows the gears in the drive gearsystem to be unmeshed and continue rotating; and the fan blade gear isattached to the fan blade shaft to allow for continuous rotation of thefan blades through the squeezing and releasing of the spring loaded handgrip to create a cooling breeze.
 2. The portable mechanical fan deviceof claim 1, wherein the spring loaded hand grip has an enlarged size soas to physically accommodate a placement of all four fingers of the handaround for squeezing the spring loaded hand grip.
 3. The portablemechanical fan device of claim 1, wherein the drive gear system furthercomprises a upper drive gear and a lower drive gear being mountedtogether to a drive gear shaft; and when the saw-tooth drive plate isdriven forward, the saw-tooth drive plate is meshed against the lowerdrive gear which in turn drives the upper drive gear forward to bemeshed against the fan blade gear causing the fan blade shaft to spinand the fan blades to rotate.
 4. The portable mechanical fan device ofclaim 3, further comprising: a drive gear casing for containing thedrive gear system; and a cut-out slot being provided at an inside of thedrive gear casing and allowing for a back and forth sliding movement ofthe drive gear shaft.
 5. The portable mechanical fan device of claim 4,wherein the cut-out slot has a predetermined length defining a distanceof the back and forth sliding movement of the drive gear shaft.
 6. Theportable mechanical fan device of claim 1, wherein a travel distance ofthe spring loaded hand grip and the attached saw-tooth drive plate isone inch.
 7. The portable mechanical fan device of claim 1, furthercomprising: a scent canister being mounted at top of the center of theplurality of fan blades to disseminate a refreshing aroma along with thecooling breeze.
 8. A portable mechanical fan device, comprising: aspring loaded hand grip; a fan body casing; at least one hand gripspring having a first end engaged with the spring loaded hand grip and asecond end fixed at an inside of the fan body casing; a saw-tooth driveplate being attached to the top of the spring loaded hand grip; a drivegear system including at least a fan blade gear; and a plurality of fanblades being mounted to a fan blade shaft, wherein the spring loadedhand grip has an enlarged size so as to physically accommodate aplacement of all four fingers of a hand around for squeezing the springloaded hand grip; squeezing the spring loaded hand grip into the fanbody casing by a hand drives the saw-tooth drive plate forward causinggears in the drive gear system to be meshed together and rotate;releasing the spring loaded hand grip allows the gears in the drive gearsystem to be unmeshed and continue rotating; and the fan blade gear isattached to the fan blade shaft to allow for continuous rotation of thefan blades through the squeezing and releasing of the spring loaded handgrip to create a cooling breeze.
 9. The portable mechanical fan deviceof claim 8, wherein the drive gear system further comprises a upperdrive gear and a lower drive gear being mounted together to a drive gearshaft; and when the saw-tooth drive plate is driven forward, thesaw-tooth drive plate is meshed against the lower drive gear which inturn drives the upper drive gear forward to be meshed against the fanblade gear causing the fan blade shaft to spin and the fan blades torotate.
 10. The portable mechanical fan device of claim 9, furthercomprising: a drive gear casing for containing the drive gear system;and a cut-out slot being provided at an inside of the drive gear casingand allowing for a back and forth sliding movement of the drive gearshaft.
 11. The portable mechanical fan device of claim 10, wherein thecut-out slot has a predetermined length defining a distance of the backand forth sliding movement of the drive gear shaft.
 12. The portablemechanical fan device of claim 8, wherein a travel distance of thespring loaded hand grip and the attached saw-tooth drive plate is oneinch.
 13. The portable mechanical fan device of claim 8, furthercomprising: a scent canister being mounted at top of the center of theplurality of fan blades to disseminate a refreshing aroma along with thecooling breeze.
 14. A portable mechanical fan device, comprising: aspring loaded hand grip; a fan body casing; at least one hand gripspring having a first end engaged with the spring loaded hand grip and asecond end fixed at an inside of the fan body casing; a saw-tooth driveplate being attached to the top of the spring loaded hand grip; a drivegear system including upper and lower drive gears and a fan blade gear;a drive gear casing for containing the drive gear system; and aplurality of fan blades being mounted to a fan blade shaft, wherein theupper and lower drive gears are mounted together to a drive gear shaft;a cut-out slot is provided at an inside of the drive gear casing andallows for a back and forth sliding movement of the drive gear shaft;squeezing the spring loaded hand grip into the fan body casing by a handdrives the saw-tooth drive plate forward to be meshed against the lowerdrive gear which in turn drives the upper drive gear to be meshedagainst with the fan blade gear and causes the upper drive gear and thefan blade gear to rotate; releasing the spring loaded hand grip allowsthe upper drive gear and the fan blade gear to be unmeshed and continuerotating; and the fan blade gear is attached to the fan blade shaft toallow for continuous rotation of the fan blades through the squeezingand releasing of the spring loaded hand grip to create a cooling breeze.15. The portable mechanical fan device of claim 14, wherein the springloaded hand grip has an enlarged size so as to physically accommodate aplacement of all four fingers of the hand around for squeezing thespring loaded hand grip.
 16. The portable mechanical fan device of claim14, wherein the cut-out slot has a predetermined length defining adistance of the back and forth sliding movement of the drive gear shaft.17. The portable mechanical fan device of claim 14, wherein a traveldistance of the spring loaded hand grip and the attached saw-tooth driveplate is one inch.
 18. The portable mechanical fan device of claim 14,further comprising: a scent canister being mounted at top of the centerof the plurality of fan blades to disseminate a refreshing aroma alongwith the cooling breeze.